Towel holder

ABSTRACT

A towel having a fabric flap sewn thereto along one end of the flap, the other end of the flap being looped for suspending the towel from a support, and means for fastening the looped end over the support.

United States. Patent 1 McPhaul [451 Sept. 4, 1973 TOWEL HOLDER [76] Inventor: Margaret L. McPhaul, 7417 Upshur St., Landover Hills, Md.- 20784 [22] Filed: May 31, 1972 21 Appl. No.1 258,387

[52] US. Cl. 24/73 R, 15/209 R, 224/5 R [51] Int. Cl A44!) 21/00 [58] Field of Search 224/5 R; 24/73 CF, 24/7, 9, 245 FF, 3 A, 3 B, 73 R; 2/279 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 838,555 12/1906 Levy ..24/245 FF Rochester 2/279 X 2,754,532 7/1956 Kanehl et aL... 224/5 R X 2,803,845 8/1957 Bradford 15/209 R 3,638,284 2/1972 Baker 24/73 CF Primary Examiner-Donald A. Griffin Attorney-Lawrence Rv Radanovic 5 7 ABSTRACT A towel having a fabric flap sewn thereto along one end of the flap, the other end of the flap being looped for suspending the towel from a support, and means for fastening the looped end over the support.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures rower. notnaa This invention relates generally to towels and more particularly to a means sewn directly on to the towel for conveniently suspending it from a support.

Most towels for kitchen or other uses are generally placed over a towel rack or through a door or cabinet handle by extending one end of the towel behind the support or rack so it may be draped thereover. Because such towels are not clamped or otherwise tied about their support, the towel may very easily make its way to the floor. It would therefore be advantageous to provide a simple means for securely maintaining the towel about its support and which also facilitates removal of the towel quickly and easily for replacement. This, therefore, is the principal object of this invention.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a towel having a fabric flap sewn thereto along one end of the flap with means at the other end of the flap provided for suspending the towel from a support, such means including first and second portions of the flap having cooperating male and female fastener devices thereon and the flap portions together defining an opening for the support from which the towel may be suspended.

A further object of this invention is to provide such a towel wherein one of such flap portions comprises an extension of the other of such flap portions so that the one portion may be folded over the other.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a towel wherein the flap portions each comprise a strap extending away from the sewn end and are spaced from each other, their free ends extending toward one another with the fastener devices located thereon.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the towel and its sewn flap holder shown supported from a horizontal bar and made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the FIG. 1 towel and its holder;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the towel and its holder taken along the line of 3-3 of HO. 2;

H0. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a towel and its holder shown suspended from a vertical bar member support, made in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view showing a portion of the towel and its support in accordance with the FIG. 4 embodiment.

Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 to 3 one embodiment 10 of a towel 11 having a flap 12 made of fabric sewn at one end as at 13 to the towel l 1 having first been slightly bunched together to accommodate the relatively narrow flap width. The flap is comprised essentially of two portions a first portion 14 constituting substantially the main body portion of the flap, and a second portion 15 formed as an extension of the first portion and being bent or folded thereover so as to present an opening 116 between these flap portions. Male and female fastener elements such as a button 17 and a button opening R8 are respectively provided on the'first and second fllap portions. Accordingly, the towel 111 may be conveniently suspended from a horizontal support bar such as 19 by first unbuttoning the flap portions, thereafter extending the free end of the second flap portion 15 behind the support bar, and finally folding over the second flap portion so that its button opening 18 may be made to interengage with button 17.

Another embodiment made in accordance with the present invention and generally designated 211 in FIG. 4, also includes a towel 22 of exactly the same type as in the first embodiment such as, for example, terrycloth or the like. A fabric flap 23 is sewn at one end as at 24 to the towel 22. As in the first embodiment, this flap also includes first and second portions 25, 26 which may be fastened together for suspending the towel from a support. However, these first and second portions 25, 26, respectively, are formed as fabric strands extending away from the sewn end of the flap and are spaced from another to define an opening 27 therebetween. The free ends 28, 29 of each flap portion are designed to face toward one another and each are provided with a male and female fastener device 31, 32 in the form of, for example, a metallic snap or clasp. Accordingly, the towel 22 may be conveniently suspended from a vertically disposed support bar 33 by first undoing the snap between the first and second portions and placing these portions behind the vertical support after which the male and female fastener devices are simply snapped together. Of course, the type of male and female fas tener devices herein may comprise a button and a buttonhole as in the first embodiment it), and the male and female fastener devices of the first embodiment may equally comprise a metallic snap or clasp of the type described for the embodiment 21, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that a simple, economical and yet highly effective manner of securely maintaining a towel in place on a support member has been devised with the use of a fabric flap sewn at one end to the towel and having portions of the fabric flap itself with fastening means thereon to permit the flap to be looped about the support and unfastened when necessary.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, the male and female fastener devices are intended to encompass other such known devices equivalent to the fastening devices disclosed herein. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

l. A towel having a flat flap sewn thereto along one end, said flap having a pair of leg portions extending away from said one end lying in a common plane and being spaced apart to define an opening therebetween, the free end of each said leg portion extending toward one another and having fastening means thereon interconnecting said free ends together to permit the towel to be suspended from a support extending through said opening.

2. The towel according to claim 1 wherein said fastening means comprises male and female snap fasteners on respective ones of said free ends. 

1. A towel having a flat flap sewn thereto along one end, said flap having a pair of leg portions extending away from said one end lying in a common plane and being spaced apart to define an opening therebetween, the free end of each said leg portion extending toward one another and having fastening means thereon interconnecting said free ends together to permit the towel to be suspended from a support extending through said opening.
 2. The towel according to claim 1 wherein said fastening means comprises male and female snap fasteners on respective ones of said free ends. 